Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for tourism
100 Years of Green in Israel
By Linda Tancs
Israel’s Ministry of Tourism website says that “Israel is one of two countries on earth that has more trees today than it did 100 years ago.” That may seem surprising to those familiar with the Jerusalem hills, populated with natural forests, terraced hillsides and ancient agricultural settlements. Yet four centuries of Ottoman rule resulted in millions of trees cut down because property taxes were calculated by the number of trees owned by landowners. Now Israel celebrates its greening by promoting a host of eco-tourism activities. Visiting a Kibbutz is a classic way to experience the earliest impetus towards green living. Another highlight of green Israel is The Ariel Sharon Ayalon Park, a metropolitan park boasting tropical gardens located just outside of Tel Aviv, formerly the 2,000-acre Hiriya garbage dump. You can explore the city’s tree-lined boulevards by bicycle (another eco-friendly act) or camel trek through the wilderness to a quiet evening in a goat-hair Bedouin tent. Whatever you decide, a carbon-reduced date with history awaits you.
Share this:
Arts and Crafts Flourishes in New Jersey
By Linda Tancs
There’s a National Historic Landmark tucked away in the central New Jersey township of Parsippany-Troy Hills. One of only 55 such landmarks in the state, the property is Craftsman Farms, the former home of noted turn-of-the-century designer Gustav Stickley. A major proponent of the “Arts and Crafts” home building and furnishing movement, Stickley’s 1905 log home rests on 30 quiet acres. A centerpiece, the Main House, has recently been restored to its 1910-1917 appearance. In the tradition of other great American homes like Washington’s Mount Vernon, Stickley’s earthy masterpiece is self-sufficient, sporting gardens for vegetables and flowers, as well as orchards, dairy cows and chickens. Located on Manor Lane, the log house is open for guided tours on weekends year round.
Share this:
Pea Island Birdwatching
By Linda Tancs
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge is a nesting, resting, and wintering habitat for migratory birds, including migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, and neotropical migrants. Located on the north end of Hatteras Island, a coastal barrier island in North Carolina and part of a chain of islands known as the Outer Banks, the refuge is a diverse environment including ocean beach, dunes, upland, fresh and brackish water ponds, salt flats, and salt marsh. Loved by birders for its 365 species including threatened peregrine falcons, loggerhead sea turtles, and piping plovers, the area is also home to 25 species of mammals, 24 species of reptiles, and 5 species of amphibians. So this Mid-Atlantic refuge is more than for the birders.
Share this:
German Settlers Remembered in Texas
By Linda Tancs
The Pioneer Museum of Fredericksburg, Texas is a memorial to the early German settlers in the Texas Hill Country. A focal point of the area’s heritage is The Vereins Kirche, an extension of the museum located at Marktplatz. Built soon after the arrival of the first German settlers (and since rebuilt after its destruction in 1896), it was the first public building in the town and served as a town hall, school, fort, and a church for all denominations. The Gillespie County Historical Society/Pioneer Museum announced a fund raising campaign of $75,000 for its Diamond Anniversary Year. By year end every dollar donated will be matched dollar for dollar by two challenge grants from the Dian Graves Owen Foundation and Kathryn Harrison.
Share this:
Down on the Farm in Ghent
By Linda Tancs
The stylish homes and condos in the Ghent neighborhood of Norfolk, Virginia belie its humble beginnings as farmland. Originally known as Pleasant Point, James Morgan changed the name to Ghent to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium, which ended the War of 1812. Located in central Norfolk just minutes from downtown and the Norfolk Naval Station, attractions include the historic Naro Theater, the Chrysler Museum, bistros on Colley Avenue and the boutiques on 21st Street.
Share this:
India’s Billion-Dollar Home
By Linda Tancs
Amidst the wretched poverty of Mumbai it’s hard to imagine a billion-dollar home. Yet, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, that’s exactly what overlooks the slums of the most populous city in India. Named Antilia (after a mythical island in the Atlantic Ocean), the 27-story behemoth was custom built for Indian magnate Mukesh Ambani. Reportedly sporting 37,000 square metres of space serviced by a staff of 600, the palatial digs will serve as the primary residence for the Ambani family of five.
Share this:
Mules Come Calling at Calvary
By Linda Tancs
Calvary, Georgia, is some 200 strong but every first Saturday of November the tiny town swells to a megalopolis. That’s when they celebrate Mule Day, a festival including a parade of mules, horses, wagons, any kind of mule drawn equipment, and antique autos. Following the parade is a mule show. The 38th annual festival also includes arts and crafts, a flea market, sling shot shoot, petting zoo, corn and cane grinding, syrup cooking, singing and lots more–even mule jokes.
Share this:
Orlando’s Holy Land
By Linda Tancs
Time traveler wannabees, take note. The Holy Land Experience will take you back over 2000 years to ancient Jerusalem. This theatrical and historical experience on Vineland Road in Orlando, Florida features the Via Dolorosa, the road on which Christ carried the cross. Atop the hill stand the crosses of Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified. Other featured exhibits include the Dead Sea Qumran Caves, the Great Temple that once stood on hallowed Mount Moriah in first century Jerusalem and the traveling tabernacle that was the heart of worship for the children of Israel as they wandered in the desert following their exodus from Egypt.
Share this:
The Covered Bridge Capital of the World
By Linda Tancs
Parke County, Indiana may lay claim to the coveted title Covered Bridge Capital of the World. That’s because they have 31 covered bridges in a country (and world) dominated by more modern means of travel. Anyone familiar with The Bridges of Madison County understands the romance of the covered bridge. Maybe that’s why they flock in the thousands to locales like Rockport, Indiana, where the Jackson Covered Bridge of 1861 spans Sugar Creek. Mansfield Bridge draws some two million people annually at the Covered Bridge Festival. We’re not talking relics, either. The 245-foot-long Bridgeton Covered Bridge was constructed in 2006 in Bridgeton, Indiana. Built to last? You betcha.
Share this:
The Best Restaurant in the World
By Linda Tancs
The folks at Restaurant magazine voted Copenhagen’s Noma the best restaurant in the world. Now you might be envisioning wine-infused sauces or layers of thinly shaved beef or fish decorated with a variety of green leaves and truffle emulsions. Well, that’s hardly the case. In fact, Noma’s website will inform you that they’re not about olive oil, foie gras, sun-dried tomatoes and black olives. Instead, they bring the Nordic regions to your palate with fare like Icelandic skyr curd, halibut, and Greenland musk ox. Pure and simple.
